The author and professor in conversation. A friend recently told me about a book he was assigned to review and thought I should read. When he mentioned the title, Republic in Peril: American Empire and the Liberal Tradition, I ordered it…

America’s three principal adversaries signify the shape of the world to come: a post-Western world of coexistence. But neoliberal and neocon ideology is unable to to accept global pluralism and multipolarity, argues Patrick Lawrence. The Trump administration has brought U.S….

Whether or not by design, Trump seems to recognize that Xi’s dynamically emergent China has to be accommodated, not resisted. My articles here harp just short of ad infinitum on America’s changing place in a changing world. No apology. Our…

And as Trump’s recent turnabout shows, the establishment will brook no dissent from the reigning orthodoxy. You would expect, amid all the tiresome comment written and broadcast on Donald Trump’s “first 100 days,” something worth thinking about might have appeared…

This PDF document is the original version, as filed, of the column posted on April 6. A week ago, administration officials said that ousting Syrian President Bashar al–Assad was no longer the U.S. priority. After Obama and then-Secretary of State…

President Trump said all along he was going to go after the Iran nuclear pact—another of his “worst evers.” During his campaign, he promised more sanctions, a promise which he has now kept after Iran fired a ballistic missile test…

President-elect Trump, a novice in foreign affairs, was destined to confront reality. Who would have guessed that the Middle East is the first place he’ll have to get down to his first serious policy decisions? Even a week ago it…

The long-anticipated battle to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, is the biggest test to date for President Obama’s strategy against ISIS and other terrorist groups active in the Middle East. The chances of success are decidedly mixed. Paradoxically, the forces…

When a U.S. vessel off the coast of Yemen fired on Houthi rebels Thursday, it sent another of the Obama administration’s delicate balancing acts in the Middle East off the rails. Is the president who says he’s dedicated to getting…

Big trade deals across both oceans were supposed to be two marble monuments the Obama administration bequeaths to posterity. But as the president completes his second term, it’s more likely that he’ll leave behind a half-built and poorly carved stone…